Transnational Initiatives

-Transnational Impact of Migrant Organizations in New Destinations (See Funded Projects)

-Venezuelan Migrants in Old and New Destinations

Venezuelan Migrants in Old and New Destinations. Principal Investigator: Dr. Lourdes Gouveia.  The project seeks to document the migration histories and settlement strategies and outcomes of Venezuelans in the United States. It utilizes a transnational perspective and a combination of data sources that include decennial censuses and in-depth interviews with Venezuelan migrants and their organizations, as well as a wide range of governmental and non-governmental agencies located in Venezuela and the United States. The project is partially funded by the U.S. Department of Education and Ford Foundation. So far, migrants have been interviewed in older destinations such as Miami and Orlando and in the new destination state of Nebraska. The project will be extended to other states with relatively large concentrations of Venezuelans and transnational organizations such with California, New York, Texas, and Rhode Island.  If you wish to participate in the study, please contact Dr. Gouveia directly at lgouveia@mail.unomaha.edu

-OLLAS membership and Board representation in the International Network of Migration and Development 

OLLAS is a member of the Red Internacional de Migración y Desarollo. Dr. Lourdes Gouveia is a member of the council and the Red’s executive committee.  La Red is engaged in a number of international projects, including a workshop series on migration and development funded by the MacArthur Foundation.   Forthcoming workshops will be held in Tijuana, Caracas and Costa Rica.  For more information please visit La Red’s website: migracionydesarrollo.org

-Latin America Study Abroad: Lima, Peru! (See Homepage)

The course examines the effects of globalization on the urban population of Lima, Peru. This country’s pre-Columbian heritage and multicultural make-up constitute an intriguing site for exploring development, underdevelopment and the reality of Latin American
“modern” cities today. Students will gain new insights into issues such as the power of culture as it receives and transforms transnational media images; the transformation and destruction of nature; the role of organized urban neighborhoods and their accomplishments; and the challenge facing Latin American policy makers when trying to reconcile different views of “modernity” in a multicultural environment. Classes start on May 12 via Distance Education. On May 18, students travel to Lima, the capital city of Peru. Final reflections and paper take place back home and the course concludes on June 27. The course has an applied and service learning component.